CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 170: INTRODUCING LUCIAN RICE

Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

Futuremag Music sat down with Aotearoa/New Zealand born and based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Lucian Rice. Following the release of his debut single Spineback, Lucian continues to showcase his ability to blend nu-gaze, dream pop, and alternative rock into a mesmerising sonic experience with new single, can’t you see.

FMM: You've been off to a great start this year. You've put out two new singles. How does it feel to have them out there?

Lucian: Yeah, it feels really good. I've been sitting on these tracks for about two years now, so it's nice to finally be able to get them going. I'm excited to do more.

FMM: You said you've been sitting on them for a while, so why is now the right time to put them out there?

Lucian: Yeah, it's a good question. I think I wanted to wait until I had at least ten of them, so I could start releasing and keep the ball rolling and not feel that creative pressure of, releasing alongside each other When you're releasing, it's like a different mindset to when you're writing a song and they can kind of swamp each other at the same time.

FMM: What has the reaction been? Have people reached out and said that they're loving these tracks and loving what you're putting out there?

Lucian: Yeah, yeah, definitely. It's always weird. These are my first two songs with this alias, so it's always fun at the start because when someone reaches out to you, it's like, oh, wow, that’s fun, how'd you find it? Like, blah, blah, blah. It's really cool hearing what people are saying and having people excited this early on.

FMM: With your latest release, can't you see, you've mentioned that it’s come from personal experience. Can you tell us more about how you shape your personal experience into storytelling and songwriting?

Lucian: Yeah, sure. Being a musician, a lot of my peers are also musicians, and they're always writing, always working on music. I really struggle with that because my biggest thing is that I have to feel like I need to live a lot. I could live 30 different experiences in one week and get one sentence out of it. So, to me, I have to feel a lot of things in my personal life to be able to bring that to a song, but then there's moments like, can't you see, where it’s just this one feeling that's been culminating and culminating for months and months, and then one night it finally all comes out into a song. It’s just how life works into it and then it's all about subtext, too. I'm not directly saying the exact situation, but, you know, we all go through similar experiences as life goes on.

FMM: It’s great because, as I said, the two singles you've already got out there, I've really enjoyed them. It looks like other people have, too, so it's good to see that you're in that space where you're comfortable putting out music and sharing some of your stories as well.

Lucian: Yeah, definitely. It’s great. It's fun writing the songs, and it's fun having people say they really resonate with the songs, or even just that they like it. It's good enough.

FMM: You're based in New Zealand, but I see that you've also had opportunities to explore your music in places such as Los Angeles and New York. Can you tell us more about your musical experience and why you’re drawn to these particular places?

Lucian: Yeah, so I guess I've been doing music for about 10 years now. I was in all-ages scenes growing up, just locally. As I got a bit older or a bit more into it, I started putting the instruments down and stopped doing live and started opening my laptop more and doing music on that and learning how Logic and stuff works. Through doing music online, you meet a lot of people and then as you get older and older, it's like, oh, well, we should all meet up. I have had the privilege to make a lot of friends online that are now just my friends. When I get to go to New York and go to LA to see them, it's just as normal as it would be seeing my friends I see here.

FMM: It sounds like collaboration is an important part to you and your music as well.

Lucian: Yeah, definitely. I just love my friends and I love doing things with my friends. It makes that experience so much more memorable.

FMM: And in saying that, do you have any dream people who you'd absolutely love to collaborate with?

Lucian: It's tough. It's like the whole never meet your heroes thing. I'd hate to work on a song with someone that I really look up to and the song just blows. I’d have a tainted view on that. I work either by myself or with my close friends and, you know, maybe if that opportunity came along later, just naturally, it could be cool. But even then, I'm pretty happy with just doing it with the two or three people I keep around me.

FMM: You mentioned earlier that you were waiting to release these songs until you had some other songs that can go with it for a longer project. Is that where you want to head on to next, like an EP or an album? Or where do you see yourself going from here?

Lucian: Yeah, I mean, releasing music and streaming and stuff these days, you can be a lot more fluid with how you do it. I can release these two singles and I can kind of keep releasing them until I feel like, oh, you know, maybe I'll make it a project, or scrap that and keep releasing it or just drop it all as an album. It's the beauty of it, right? It's that it's so fluid, so I can kind of just feel it out and see it out. But, I definitely like the idea of a project because I wrote them over x amount of time, so they feel like x amount of time. We'll see what I do.

FMM: These other songs you mentioned, do they explore a similar theme of personal experience through storytelling? Or can you tell us more about what you are working on?

Lucian: Sure. Yeah. I think they all sort of have the same theme. I think there's different levels of vulnerability within them and different perspectives. When it's a sunny day, sometimes this is amazing. This is the best feeling I've ever had. But then some days I'm like, oh, it's too hot. I'm, like, so sweaty and it’s so late. It's all about the same sort of experience, but at the same time, a lot of different perspectives I had during that.

FMM: Going back to your recent single, you mentioned that there's also a music video. Can you tell us a bit about that and what you hope people take away from not only the lyrics of the song, but also the visual representation?

Lucian: Yeah, sure, so I did that video with my good friend, Harry. We did that. He's in New York, and we went out to New Haven in Connecticut to film that. To me, the song is about the feeling of being misunderstood by someone around you or anyone around you. You know, it's that simple and I think by doing music, you feel that anyway. You feel like, I just want someone to understand what I'm trying to do a lot of the time. Having someone like Harry, who I've been friends with for a while now, we both felt that similarly. To be able to express that through the song and the lyrics and for him to express that in the visuals and really capture that, too, is really special. I just want people to take me for who I am, I guess.

FMM: Yeah, that makes total sense, and in terms of live performances, do you have anything coming up where people can come out and support your music?

Lucian: Yeah, nothing to say yet, but I've got a lot of plans for live, which I'm excited about.

FMM: That's great to hear, because obviously, your music's great, so we would love to come out and support you. In saying that, a lot of our audience is based in Australia, so as you're based in New Zealand, what are some ways that international fans can support you so you can continue releasing new music?

Lucian: Honestly, just listening to it is the best thing. Show a friend, add it to a playlist, that all helps with the streaming side of things. But even just for me, knowing that someone has resonated with the song and wanted to share it and wanted to put it in the playlist and show people it, that's what I love about music and listening to it. I think that really helps me on all fronts, but it also makes me feel the happiest.

FMM: You've got such a unique sound too, which I love. Are there any particular artists or albums that have inspired your sound and your music over the years?

Lucian: Yeah, countless and countless inspirations always, but I guess in terms of albums, I've got a CD player in my car and I have an AUX cable as well, but when my phone's dead or the adapter is not working, I listen to Brand New Eyes, the Paramore album and that just always plays if I'm going a five-minute drive and I don't want to plug in my phone. That album there, is one of the best albums, always. Every time I listen to it and come back to it, it’s great. Maybe Minerals' and EndSerenading album. I think lyrics on that stuff and all the Mineral stuff, heir energy live is just amazing. I love so much music, like Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and the Pet Sounds album obviously is a massive influence on my music as well, whether it's obvious or not. Also the Stina Nordenstam album, And She Closed Her Eyes. That album was like the soundtrack while I was writing all these songs. I love that album.

FMM: That’s a very great, diverse taste and mix in inspiration. Well, thanks so much. That's all my questions, but were there any other comments that you wanted to add about this particular release or things that you want people to know about the music or yourself as an artist?

Lucian: No, that's perfect. I'll leave it up to everyone else, right? I'm comfy with who I am.